I wish people would go back and take basic high school economics and stay awake in class this time before pointing fingers as to why inflation and fuel prices are at current levels.

There are 39 countries with, what is considered, advanced economies, all of whom are experiencing high inflation and fuel costs.

Things that drive this economy are fuel prices, politics, production and demand, with fuel prices having the biggest impact on cost. Everything we buy — clothing, appliances, vehicles, food and yes even toys — have to be shipped in some fashion or another and that requires fuel. Common sense tells me that if fuel prices double, so do shipping costs and therefore the costs of all the goods we buy goes up.

I hear people talking about pipelines, increased drilling and so on. This country exports oil, meaning we produce more crude than we use. Therefore, increased production is not the answer and real culprit, once again, is the petroleum industry and their shareholding profit maximizers who through all of this are enjoying record profits. Do your own research and don’t be spoon fed biased information by reality TV cable news.

Also, let’s not forget that the entire world’s economy came to a standstill not long ago, which disrupted everything from manufacturing to shipping. Also, Putin deciding to flex his little muscles made matters even worse. Again, common sense tells me that there is no magic switch to be flipped to have everything return to normal overnight.

If you want prices to come down then start pointing your finger at the real culprits: the petroleum industry and their shareholders. It would be interesting to know how many shares the multimillionaire reality TV cable news hosts and politicians have in fossil fuels.

Gerard Austin

Solon